Spinning toy



Nov. 29, 1960 H. SACHS- ETAL SPINNING TOY Filed llay 11, 1959 INVENTOR.

United 'Statfis ate i t SPINNING TOY lrving H. Sachs, Yardley, Pa., and Robert Sefcik, Mer- 'chantville, N.J., assignors to J. Chein & Company, I Burlington, N .J a corporation of New York Filed May 11, 1959, Ser. No. 812,227

, Claims. (CI. 46-47) This invention relates to spinning toys and relates more particularly to a toy having a rotating superstructure inthe speed of the latter reaches a certain number of revolutions per minute the segments of the shell open due to centrifugal action and display the feminine figure. By varying the speed the shell can be made to open and close at will.

An important object of the invention is to provide a spinning toy which is manually driven at high speed through a train of speed increasing gears and which produces a colorful effect accompanied by a sustained musical note.

A further object of the invention is to provide a spin ning toy having an enormous amount of play value due primarily to the high speeds of rotation and which can be produced inexpensively.

In the drawing? :'Fig.'1 is a perspective .view of a toy embodying the present invention. v

is a central verticalsection taken through the toy.

Fig. 3 is a broken section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a broken section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The toy of the present invention is supported on a lower base which may be stamped out from sheet metal and is provided with a downwardly extending annular flange 11. There is also an upper base 12 formed with a downwardly and outwardly extending annular flange 13 provided with spaced tabs 14 received in suitable openings in base 10 and bent over.

The superstructure is mounted on a non-rotating shaft 15 and has a bushing 16, preferably of plastic material, which is force fitted into a central opening in lower base 10 and provided with an upper flange 17 which engages the upper face of the base. The flange is received in a metal bushing 18 positioned below the base 10 and which receives a splined lower terminal section of shaft 15 in force-fit relation. This bushing retains the top rotating part in assembled relation.

A second or upper bushing 20 is free to rotate on shaft 15 and this has an upper section 21 of larger dimeter and which passes through a central opening formed in upper base 12, the edges of this opening being flanged upwardly at 22 to form a bearing for the upper bushing. A flange 23 at the upper end of the latter supports the lower end of a cup-shaped hub 24 having openings 25. The upper end of the bushing is rolled over at 19 to secure hub 24 in place.

Means for rotating the upper assembly, which will be generally referred to as a rotor, include a pinion 26 fast on bushing 20.

A simple train of gears are mounted on shafts 30, 31 and 32 which are mounted between bases 10 and 12.

r 2,961,794 Patented Nov. 29, 196D Shaft carries a segmental gear 33 driven by a hand lever 34 extending through a slot 35 in flange 13. The hand lever is returned to the starting position of Fig. 3 by a torsion spring 36. The segmental gear 33 en gages a pinion 37 secured to a gear 38 on shaft 31. Shaft 32 is mounted in elongated slots 75 in bases 10 and 12, rather than in round holes as in the case of shafts 30 and 31, and carries a pinion 40 and a gear 41 secured thereto, said gear driving the pinion 26 fast on bushing 20.

From the starting position of Fig. 3 the hand lever is rotated clockwise and final gear 41 is also rotated clockwise. On the return stroke the hand lever drives gear 41 in a counterclockwise direction which causes shaft 32 to move in slot 75 to the position shown in Fig. 1 wherein gear 41 is automatically disengaged from pinion 26. It will be apparent that as the hand lever 34 is' reciprocated constant rotation in one direction will be imparted to pinion 26 fast on bushing 20 since the loose gear 41 forms, in effect, a clutch. The rotor includes a cup-shaped housing 44 carried at the upper end of hub 24, which latter has tabs 45 which pass through openings in the housing and are bent over. An annular flange 46 at the upper end of housing 44 forms a seat for 'a base plate 47. This flange also receives a transparent plastic dome 50 in secured relation.

A music reed 51 capable of emitting musical not by the passage thereon of air passing through hub openings 25, receives a pinion 52 which is force-fitted thereinto, a gear being freely rotatable on shaft 15. This pinion drives a gear 53 fast on a shaft 54 journalled' in a bearing 55 connected with a bushing 56 keyed to a splined section of shaft 15. Also fast on shaft 54 is a sinall pinion 60 which drives a gear 61.

A figure 62 such as that of a dancing girl is mounted on an extension 63 of gear 61. It will be apparent from the foregoing that base plate 47, including housing 44 and transparent dome 50 rotate at a much faster speed than does the dancing figure 62.

The latter is normally enclosed within a plurality of segment-like housing sections 65 which, when in their innermost position of Fig. 2, completely enclose the dancing figure. These segment-like members are shaped like leaves of a tulip and whose lower ends pass through openings 68 in base plate 47 and extend thence outwardly and downwardly as flanges 66. The flanges are urged flat against the lower face of the plate by means of a flat spring 70 of generally cruciform shape which is secured centrally of plate 47 by means of outwardly crimping the material struck from an opening 72 as shown at 73.

While there have been described herein what are at present considered preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the exemplary embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A spinning toy comprising a base and a shaft extending upwardly therefrom, a rotor on the shaft and manual means for driving the rotor, including a pinion on the rotor, a train of speed increasing gears, the first gear in the train being provided with a hand lever for oscillating movement, a loose gear at the end of the train driving said pinion when the hand lever is moved in one direction and automatically disengages therefrom when moved in the other direction, a superstructure including a housing formed with a transparent dome and an intermediate base plate having a central opening and openings positioned radially thereof, a normally closed housing shell formed in segments pivoted at their lower ends in said latter openings and portions extending radially outwardly therefrom, a fiat spring on said plate engaging said outward extensions to normally retain the segments in upright position but permitting them to open outwardly due to centrifugal action as the rotor turns, a gear freely mounted at the upper end of the shaft and a figure mounted on said gear and extending through said central opening and enclosed by the, shell, and a gear train between the rotor and. the figure to drive the figure at a lower speed than the rotor.

2. A spinning toy comprising a base and a shaft extending upwardly from the base, a rotor mounted on the shaft and means for manually driving the rotor, including a pinion on the rotor, a train of speed increasing gears, the first gear in the train being provided with a. hand lever for oscillating movement, a loose gear at the end of the train driving said pinion when the hand lever is moved in one direction and automatically disengages therefrom when moved in the other direction, said rotor including a lower housing, a transparent upper housing and an intermediate base plate having a central opening and openings positioned radially thereof, athous- -ing shell formed in segments pivoted at their lower ends in said latter openings and having portions extending radially outwardly therefrom, a flat spring on said plate engaging said outwardly extending portions to normally retain the segments in upright position but permitting then to open outwardly due to centrifugal action as the rotor turns, a gear freely mounted at the upper end of the shaft, a figure mounted on the gear and enclosed by the shell and extending through the central opening, a pinion keyed to the lower housing and a train of spaced reducing gears between said latter pinion and last mentioned gear to drive the figure at a lower speed than the rotor.

3. A spinning toy comprising a base and a fi'xed shaft extending upwardly from the base, a rotor mounted on the shaft and provided with a driving pinion fast thereon, a manually movable operating lever pivoted on the base for oscillating manual movement and a train of speed increasing gears between the lever and the pinion, clutch means in said'train comprising a loose gear which engages the pinion when the lever is moved in one direction and automatically disengages when moved in the opposite direction so as to produce continuous rotation of the pinion on oscillation of the lever, said motor including a lower housing, a transparent upper housing and an intermediate base plate having a central opening and openings positioned radially thereof, a housing shell formed in segments pivoted at their lower ends in said latter openings and having portions extending radially outwardly therefrom, a flat spring on said plate engaging said portions to normally retain the segments in upright position but permitting them to open outwardly due to centrifugal action as the superstructure rotates, a gear freely mounted at the upper end of the shaft and a figure mounted on the gear and enclosed by the shell, a pinion keyed to the lower housing and a train of spaced reducing gears. between said latter pinion and last mentioned gear to drive the figure at a lower speed than the rotor. 4. The structure recited in claim 3 wherein said clutch is at the end of the first gear train to impart continuous rotation to the rotor upon reciprocating rotation of the operating lever.

5. The structure recited in claim 3 wherein the flat spring mounted on the lower surface of the base. plate is of cruciform shape and said outwardly extending portions have downwardly bent terminals which engage the spring terminals.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 748,087 Mighels et al. Dec. 29, 1903 2,809,548 Brutting Oct. 15, 1957 2,840,949 Faulkner July 1, 1958 

